Sexual reproduction vs. clonal propagation in the recovery of a seagrass meadow after an extreme weather event

Marine flowering plants can reproduce sexually and clonally, and the relative contribution of these two modes can be dependent on the environmental conditions. Zostera marina, a seagrass widely distributed in the northern hemisphere, can form annual and perennial meadows with different proportions of sexual versus clonal propagation depending on the environmental disturbance regime. We study the hypothesis that the contribution of sexual propagation varies during the recovery of a seagrass meadow. In this case study, we compare the proportion of sexual versus clonal propagation of a perennial Z. marina meadow before its disappearance due to winter storms and after recovery. Before disturbance, genotypic diversity was high, indicating frequent sexual reproduction events likely to create an abundant seed bank. Seedling germination allowed the population to recover after the extreme disturbance. As months passed, seedlings became rare and finally absent, giving place to adult shoots. In an advanced stage of colonization, the shoots colonized the area by vegetative growth, which lowered the genotypic diversity. Despite this reduction over time, the genotypic diversity of the new meadow is still high, demonstrating the importance of sexual reproduction in meadow recovery and persistence.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

ITED – 3ª edição 2015: manual evolutivo e reconstrutivo

Ao longo das últimas décadas Portugal tem assistido a um abrandamento na construção civil e, naturalmente, na construção de edificado novo. Porém, subsiste a necessidade de requalificar os edifícios já existentes que serão, indubitavelmente, o grande nicho de negócio nas décadas vindouras. Paralelamente, a legislação e as especificações e prescrições técnicas das diversas instalações específicas, designadamente as Infraestruturas de Telecomunicações em Edifícios (ITED), devem convergir para a harmonização com as Normas Europeias e adaptadas à realidade económica do país. Assim, é com naturalidade que se prevê uma nova edição do Manual ITED (a 3ª Edição) para o próximo ano de 2015 que vise fundamentalmente, a atualização das especificações e prescrições técnicas à realidade tecnológica atual (e futura), à normalização europeia e uma convergência com a real situação económica portuguesa. O presente artigo propõem, de uma forma sucinta, evidenciar as principais alterações decorrentes da proposta do novo enquadramento das Infraestruturas de Telecomunicações em Edifício (ITED) a ser criada pela 3ªEdição do respetivo Manual

Online sport consumption : influence of consumers’ motivations and concerns on their actual behavior and future purchase intentions.

Mestrado em Gestão do DesportoO objetivo deste estudo foi examinar o papel das motivações e preocupações dos consumidores online, de produtos e serviços desportivos, nos seus comportamentos atuais e como isso afeta as intenções futuras de compra. Com base no modelo SMOS, cinco tipos de motivação (i.e., a conveniência, informação, diversão, socialização e económica) e quatro tipos de preocupações (i.e., segurança e privacidade, entrega, qualidade do produto e serviço ao cliente) foram examinados para entender a sua influência no comportamento de consumo atual e ainda, sobre as futuras intenções de compra. Os dados foram recolhidos através de um inquérito enviado por correio eletrónico com um retorno de novecentas e quarenta respostas (n = 940). Um modelo de equações estruturais em duas etapas foi realizado e os resultados mostraram que o fator de motivação mais forte para a compra de produtos ou serviços de desporto é "económico", enquanto o tipo de preocupação "qualidade do produto" foi considerado menos preponderante para o consumo online. Os resultados também indicaram que a importância da frequência de compra online se sobrepõe à importância do valor gasto.ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to examine the role of online sport consumer’s motivations and concerns on their actual behaviors and how it affects future purchase intentions. Based on the SMOS model, five types of motivation (i.e., convenience, information, diversion, socialization and economic) and four types of concerns (i.e., security and privacy, delivery, product quality, and customer service) were examined to understand their influence on actual behavior and on future behavioral intentions. Data were collected through an email survey with a return of nine hundred and forty responses (N = 940). A two-step structural equation model was conducted and the results showed that the strongest motivation for buying sport products or services is ‘economic’, while the concern ‘product quality’ was considered less preponderant for the online consumption. The results also indicated that the importance of purchase’s frequency supersedes the importance of the purchase’s amount spent

Accessing the determinants of behavioral intention to adopt fintech services among the millennial generation

The purpose of this study is to assess the determinants of behavioral intention to adopt financial technology services among the millennial generation using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, one of the most recognized and developed theories of behavioral intention and technology acceptance. An online survey collected the data (N=165) to test the practicality of the model which was analyzed with structured equation modeling practices using the Partially Least Squares estimation. Additionally, multi-group analysis studied the impact of different education levels, the moderator variable in the model. Results show that, from all three variables applied, performance expectancy has the highest impact on behavioral intention to use Fintech followed by one’s perception of own financial literacy. In contrast, effort expectancy presented a poor direct effect and differences between bachelor and master students revealed to be not significant

Tecnologia par de cobre – ITED 3. Para além da transmissão de voz e dados

A secção 3 da 3ª edição do Manual ITED estabelece que as redes de cabos (ou simplesmente cablagem) caracterizam-se como o elemento das ITED que permite o transporte e distribuição dos sinais de telecomunicações nos edifícios nas três tecnologias de cabos definidas para o transporte físico da informação: cabos de par de cobre, cabo coaxial e fibra ótica. No que respeita à tecnologia de par de cobre os seus requisitos e caraterísticas mínimas estão também endereçadas nessa terceira seção

"Jogos de Computador" no ensino da História

Neste artigo iremos focar a nossa atenção nas relações entre “jogos de computador”, educação e conhecimento científico. O nosso foco será na área disciplinar da História, embora as nossas perspectivas se possam aplicar às Ciências Sociais em geral. O nosso argumento será que o valor educativo dos jogos não é um produto secundário da sua dimensão lúdica mas antes que existe uma confluência entre a construção de modelos científicos que permitem simular a sociedade e a construção de jogos atraentes de alto valor educativo, mas que, para isso acontecer, a criatividade na construção da representação do modelo interactivo no ambiente do jogo é fundamental.Instituto de Investigação Interdisciplinar da Universidade de Coimbr

Development of tools for the management of oyster nurseries: static and dynamic modelling

Ecological models have been applied for carrying capacity assessments of oyster aquaculture, and have shown to be very useful in guiding the planning and management towards production optimization. However, the existing models are mostly directed to the grow-out phase (production of adult oyster), lacking models to be applied in nurseries (production of juvenile oyster). This work presents two models to support the management of oyster nurseries that are targeted to farmers: - A static mass balance model for oyster nurseries, which estimates the maximum stock for typical external food concentrations of the nursery. Part of the work developed herein contributed to its development (available online at: http://seaplusplus4.com/oysterspatbud.html). - A dynamic model for oyster nurseries, which simulates the individual growth, food availability and stock evolution over time. The model was conceptualized and implemented as part of this work, and further validated with three data sets from the scientific literature. In this work, it is shown the application of both models to simulate a commercial nursery. The results show that both models can provide useful information, and thus guidance to farmers, even when there is a lack of data or knowledge about some features of the system, required to properly drive the models

A multidisciplinary approach in complicated acute pancreatitis

Publisher Copyright: © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory condition with a mild course in most patients, but 20–30% evolve to single or multiple organ dysfunction and pancreatic/peripancreatic necrosis, with potentially infected collections. In the first weeks of disease, a systemic inflammatory syndrome (SIRS) dominates the clinical setting, and early management decisions in this precocious phase can change the course of the disease. Imaging is crucial in the diagnosis, and since the adoption of the revised Atlanta classification, four different types of pancreatic/peripancreatic collections have been defined. The management of the complicated forms of AP has been defined by several treatment guidelines, and the main indication for intervention is local infection, preferably in walled-off necrosis. Open surgery necrosectomy is associated with a very high rate of morbimortality, giving a place to different multidisciplinary methodologies, emphasizing drainage and necrosectomy techniques in a “step-up” approach starting from mini-invasive endoscopic drainage and moving, if needed, to progressively more invasive techniques, including interventional radiology and mini-invasive surgery. With the advent of several new technologies in the specialties involved, the complicated AP cases which need drainage and necrosectomy benefit from a new era of multidisciplinary cooperation, permitting higher efficacy with lower levels of morbimortality and reducing hospital stay and costs.publishersversionpublishe